Hurricane Ike, the ninth named tropical storm in the 2008 hurricane season, is currently barreling its way through the Atlantic Ocean and is now a category 3 Hurricane that could gain strength and become a Category 4 hurricane in the coming days.
The National weather service says that hurricane Ike is now moving in a west-northwest direction at around 17 miles per hour and maximum winds of 145 miles per hour. Ike's projected path will be over the open waters of the Atlantic over the next 48 hours and is currently located about 550 miles northeast of the Leeward Islands.
With hurricanes being unpredictable, the National Weather Service has said it's too early to determine what land areas might be eventually be affected by the storm.
Hurricane Ike comes on the heels of Gustav and Hanna. Gustav and Hanna impacted Haiti, Hispaniola, Cuba, the Dominican Republic with heavy rains, flooding and landslides and caused a number of deaths.
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